Railroad cross-tie



(No Model.)

w. L. VAN HARLINGEN. Jr.

RAILROAD GROSS TIB- No. 369,756. Patented Sept. 13, 1887.

N PErERs. Phum-mwm mr. Wahinglnn. n.c.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM L. VAN HARLINGEN, JR

PATENT OFFICE.

, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

RAILROAD CROSS-TIE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,756, datedSeptember 13, .1887.

Application filed May 18, 1887. Serial No. 238,672. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM L. VAN HAR- LINGEN, J r., a citizen of theUnited States of America, residing at San Francisco, in the county ofSan Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Railroad Gross-Ties, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to metal cross-ties for railwaysfand it has for itsobject the production of ties which can be manufactured at acomparatively low cost, which will be durable in use, and which willafford elasticity to the rails.

I The invention will first be described in connection with theaccompanying drawings, and then clearly defined in the claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cross-tie, illustrating myinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of a blank from which thecross-tie is formed. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the rail-clamp.

' Referring to the drawings, A represents the cross-tic, which ispreferably shaped from the blank shown in Fig. 2, which gives the middleportion of the tie an inverted-trough shape, while the ends are formedinto boxes B, for a purpose hereinafter stated. In forming the tie andits boxes, the blank is first bent into /\-shape on the dotted line 1.The wings to (one end only of the blank being shown) are then bent underon the line 2, after which the lip Z is bent on line 3, so as tounderlie wing w.

Then, by means of a properly-shaped former, each end of the tie isstruck up into box form, the slit 4permitting the metal to spread out toform the angular rear wall and the parallel side walls of the box, thesquare boltholes 5 and the recesses 6 for the reception of the base ofthe rail being brought directly opposite each other, respectively, allas clearly shown in Fig. l. I will here state, however, that thecross-tie may be of any desired shape in cross-section, and either solidor otherwise, providedit is'formed With the box at each end.

0 represents the rail-clamp for holding the rail in position, one ofthese clamps being located in each box at the ends of the cross-tie. Itis constructed from two pieces of metal, as seen in Fig. 3, the two endse and one side, 8,

being formed of one piece, and the other side, 8, of another piece. Theside 8 has inwardlyprojecting lips 7 and 8 on its upper edge, the lips 7being bent down into a horizontal posi tion, so as to rest under thebase of the rail, while the lip 8 is designed to be clamped down ontothe top of the base of the rail. The side piece,s, also hasinwardly-projecting lips 7 and 8, like those just mentioned, and for thesame purpose, Its ends are recessed, as at 9, for the reception oftheprojecting portions of ends 6, in which are formed elongated slots 10,for a purpose hereinafter mentioned.

D- represents a square bolt of a size to neatly fit the bolt-holes 5 inthe sides of box B of the tie. The rail-clamp is secured in the box bypassing the bolt first through one side of the box, then through theslots in the projecting ends of the clamp, and then through the otherside of the box, the outer end of the bolt being provided with a nut.(Not seen.) It will be observed that when the bolt is in place itpresses tightly against the side 8 of the clamp, thus holding the partsof the clamp together.

E represents a strong spring, which may be of any desirable form,located within clamp O, by which it is held in proper position in thecross-tie. The spring is of such height that while its lower end restson the bottom of box B of the tie its upper end will extend slightlyabove the lower part of recesses 6 in the sides of the box. When therail R is in place on the cross-tie, as seen at the right hand of Fig.1, it lies within the recesses 6 and rests directly on the spring, beingthereby held slightly above the bottoms of I said recesses, and as theclamp is attached to the rail it is slightly elevated from the bottom ofthe box.

It will be apparent that as a train moves along the track the rails willyield slightlyin a vertical direction under compression of the springsthat support them, and that in doing.

so the clamps will be permitted to move with the rails by reason of theelongated slots through which the bolts pass. As the rails are at alltimes within the recesses in the ties, they cannot move laterally. Thus,while I have produced a cheap and durable metal cross-tie, I have alsoavoided the objection of rigidity of the rails, which is verydestructive to the machinery of the road.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure'by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a cross-tie having a box at each end, ofarail-clamp constructed of two pieces of metal, as described, the sideparts of the clamp having lips for clasping the base of the rail and theend parts having slotted projections, and abolt passing through thesides of the box and said projections for holding the parts of the clamptogether and in position in the box, substantially as above set forth.

'2. The combination, with across-tiehaving a box at each end, the sidesof the box recessed, as described, and a rail located in the WILLIAM L.VAN HARLINGEN, JR.

Witnesses:

ALBERT SPEIDEN, G. W. BALLO'CH.

